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Without warning, many of the endings lead to sudden suicides with female characters killing themselves violently and randomly.

One ending sees a female character hanging herself while another sees a different character stabbing herself repeatedly in the stomach.

The game has an age rating of 13, but is available on Android and iOS, making it is easy for younger children to download it.

Doki Doki Literature Club has been linked to the deaths of children, including Ben Walmsley, 15, from Radcliffe in Bury, Manchester.

The game is light-hearted for the first hour or so but then the female characters start to kill themselves in violent ways

Ben died in February with his father Darren blaming the app for contributing to his death.

In June, police issued a warning over the free-to-play game, labelling it a 'risk to children and young people'.

Now Paula Mathieson, the Assistant Principal of Callington Community College, wrote in an email to parents: 'Dear Parents and Carers

Some of the female characters hang themselves but all of the deaths come suddenly and out of the blue

'There is a new app that is going viral among many primary and secondary school age pupils.

'The app is called DOKI DOKI (literature club). The game is advertised as a school dating app and does not require parental checks to download. It is a free app and although users should be 13+ years, children can easily agree to being over the age. Once downloaded, children have unlimited access to their own account.

'The app begins as a colourful and light-hearted game but takes a sinister turn within an hour of children playing, where their online friend starts to talk about depression and eventually commits suicide.

'Please could I kindly ask all parents and carers to check that your children do not have this app installed because of the associated dangers.'

The game has been downloaded more than 10 thousand times and, although it is advertised as 12 +, it is easy for younger people to download it

While there is no evidence to suggest the game is directly linked to the death of Ben Walmsley, or anyone else, Ben's father said he believes the 'dark' game 'dragged his son in'.

The 49-year-old revealed Ben was sketching Doki Doki characters and would be contacted by text message during the day and at night, often waking him up after putting his mobile number into the game.

He said: 'It is free to download but once you get into it, it will not leave you alone. The characters befriend and love you and give you tasks to do but if you do not do them, they turn nasty.'

The father of Ben Walmsley, 15 (pictured), believes that Doki Doki Literature Club contributed to his son's death

Doki Doki Literature Club is the latest game to be plagued with accusations of causing suicide.

The Blue Whale suicide game was believed to have contributed to the deaths of dozens of schoolgirls in Russia and Ukraine.

The game was based in a social media group which encouraged people to kill themselves.

It's thought a group administrator assigned daily tasks to members, which they had to complete over 50 days.

The horrific tasks included self-harming, watching horror movies and waking up at unusual hours, but these gradually got more extreme.

Meanwhile, the MOMO challenge is also believed to have led to suicides.

In it, users are challenged to contact ‘Momo’ by sending messages to an unknown number – then, they’re hounded with frightening images and violent messages.

The viral game is tied to the unsettling image of a woman with grotesque features, ripped off from the work of Japanese doll artist Midori Hayashi.

For confidential support call the Samaritans in the UK on 08457 90 90 90, visit a local Samaritans branch or click here for details

WHAT IS THE DOKI DOKI LITERATURE CLUB?

The Doki Doki Literature Club features four animated young girls and a boy who wants to join a school literature club with them.

Described as a 'visual novel', the story follows a male high school student who joins a school's Literature Club and interacts with its four female members.

Players read the game's story and are prompted to create their own endings.

It was developed in 2017 by game producers, Salvato, and is believed to have been downloaded more than two million times in the first four months.

It is available on Microsoft Windows, macOS and Linux and can be bought from the downloadable digital store Steam.

While its creators say it is '100% free to play' it adds users 'are welcome to contribute any amount' if they wish and will be rewarded with a fan pack.

There are alternative endings depending on choices made during the course of the game.

It features graphic references and images of violence, suicide and self-harm, mental health issues, voices in the characters' heads, and scenes including a player's neck snapping.

The game carries a warning in bold online which reads: 'This game is not suitable for children or those who are easily disturbed.'